Deep oxidation of pollutants using gold deposited on a high surface area cobalt oxide prepared by a nanocasting route

Gold deposited on a cobalt oxide with high surface area (138 m2 g−1), obtained through a nanocasting route using a siliceous KIT-6 mesoporous material as a hard template, has demonstrated high activity for the total oxidation of propane and toluene, and ambient temperature CO oxidation. The addition of gold promotes the activity when compared to a gold-free Co3O4 catalyst prepared using the same nanocasting technique. The enhanced catalytic activity when gold is present has been explained for the deep oxidation of propane and toluene in terms of the improved reducibility of cobalt oxide when gold is added, rather than to the intrinsic activity of metallic gold particles. The improved behaviour for CO oxidation has been linked to the simultaneous presence of Auδ+ and Au°.The authors would like to thank Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Project CTQ2006- 02386 and Project CTQ2009-14495) for financial support.Peer reviewe